


Northshore

by cheinsaw



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Beaches, F/F, Fireworks, Gift Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 16:39:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10416486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: Hecatia and Junko go on an evening date. Originally a gift fic for my girlfriend, who insisted that I share with the class.





	

The sun's setting already when Hecatia leaves her house, warm golden light spilling over the streets. The weather's finally tolerable again after the harsh winter. Six o'clock. She's late. Junko will understand, she hopes.

She types as she walks to her car: _leaving now sorry, love you!_ and sends the text before buckling her seatbelt. The old car sputters to life, and before long Hecatia's zipping through the streets and praying she has enough gas to make it down to the shore.

The drive through the townhouses and the boardwalk is mostly uneventful, and within fifteen minutes Hecatia's slowing her car down to a stop in the bumpy, uneven beach parking lot. She has to squint against the setting sun, but she can make out Junko's tall, elegant figure walking along the shoreline.

"Babe!" she calls out, slamming her car door shut after grabbing the plastic Walgreens bag she'd brought with her. Junko turns around as Hecatia jogs toward her, despite the sand sifting into her sneakers. "I'm sorry I'm late! Due to who I am as a person."

"Mmm." Junko absently licks her lips. "Hecatia, I thought the point of this outing was to see the sun set together."

She's right, and the sun isn't completely set, but Hecatia still feels bad. Time to unleash Plan B. "Uh, yeah, but that didn't really happen so this is the new point." Hecatia holds her plastic bag up high. "I brought fireworks."

"That is illegal."

"Yeah, but they're fun! You never set off a roman candle?"

"I can't say I have." Junko presses her lips together.

"Could you maybe give it a chance?"

"...I suppose I have no other choice. But I'd like to wait until the sun is fully down to begin… engaging in that."

Hecatia grins. "Sure, babe!"

They sit on the sand, talking about nothing while letting the fading sunlight soak into their skin. Hecatia quickly ditches her shoes in favor of digging her toes into the sand. At least Junko seems amused by the childish display. Soon the sun's given way to a beautiful dark blue twilight, the last pale slivers on the horizon quickly disappearing along with the last few families packing up and leaving the beach.

Hecatia leans over and rests her head against Junko's shoulder. "You ready?"

"As ready as one could possibly be in such a situation."

"Junko, what's that mean?"

"That neither of us are trained firefighters."

Hecatia just laughs at Junko's seriousness. "It's okay! It's okay, babe, I'm careful. It'll be fine." She pulls a small lighter from her pocket and sets to ripping the plastic film off the fireworks. Two boxes of sparklers, a few fountains, and the roman candle she's been saving especially for an occasion like this. "Do you want to try holding a sparkler?"

"I think I will stay a bit away and just watch for now." Junko folds her hands.

"Gotcha." Hecatia takes her fireworks and jogs down closer to the water, far enough that Junko will feel safe but close enough that she can still see. "Bottoms up," she calls out, and pokes the tip of the metal sparkler into the flame of her lighter. Sparks instantly fly, popping in every direction with small bursts of light, and Hecatia's grinning. "See, babe? It's fine!"

"I am fine watching for now!" Junko calls back. "It's very pretty."

"I wanna show you something!" Hecatia says. She carefully stakes her still-lit sparkler into the sand, letting it shower sparks onto the ground until it fizzles out. Meanwhile, she busies herself by setting up the roman candle, pushing sand around its base so it won't tip over. She looks back quickly to make sure Junko is still looking before holding out her lighter and running for cover to Junko's side.

The roman candle does not disappoint. Once lit, it pops out a burst of light and smoke that shoots more than six feet up, then another, then another. Hecatia claps her hands together happily, and she hears Junko gasp next to her. "See?" Hecatia can't resist saying. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It is," Junko agrees, and her hand finds Hecatia's.

In the end Junko does not hold a sparkler. But that's okay with Hecatia, because she still gets to see her lovely girlfriend's face lit by fireworks, afterimages in red and blue dotting her vision. She gets to see her lovely girlfriend smile and lean in and press a kiss to her lips while showers of sparks dance in front of them.

"I told you the new plan would be just as good," Hecatia says, nuzzling her face against Junko's once she's done picking up what she can of the spent fireworks.

"...I enjoyed myself, I must admit," Junko says. "Even if it was illegal."

"Hey. Nobody else saw us!"

Junko chuckles and kisses the corner of Hecatia's mouth. "I know. Thank you for a lovely evening."

"Night's not over yet! Would you wanna go get some ice cream or somethin'?"

"I think I would."

"Alright!" And so they walk, hand in hand, off into the warm summer night, the only sound their footsteps and the buzzing of the cicadas and crickets. It's the happiest Hecatia's been in a long, long time.


End file.
